What is Your View?

European Payments Council launches annual public consultation on
Credit Transfer and
Direct Debit Rulebooks

The
Credit Transfer (
) and
Direct Debit (
) Schemes evolve over time to reflect changes in market needs and updates in standards. The annual scheme change management process provides all stakeholders with the opportunity to introduce suggestions for changes to the
Schemes. Proposed amends to the schemes are subject to a three month public consultation. Recommendations that find broad acceptance from the entire user community are taken forward, while requests that lack support are not. On 23 May, 2011, the European Payments Council (
) launched the annual public consultation on possible modifications to the
and
Rulebooks. The
encourages all Single Euro Payments Area (
) stakeholders to provide feedback by 20 August, 2011. Links to the documentation relevant to the ongoing consultation are included below.

The
will approve updated versions of the
and
Rulebooks in September 2011. Publication of the updated rulebooks then follows a predictable release schedule. The
publishes updated versions of the rulebooks in November 2011, which take effect in the third week of November 2012. In accordance with industry best practice, all stakeholders and their suppliers have a one year lead time to address rulebook updates prior to such updates taking effect. The
scheme change management process therefore ensures planning security for all stakeholders.

The
payment schemes as defined in the
and
Rulebooks, developed by the
at the request of European authorities, are key elements necessary to create
. The rulebooks contain sets of rules and standards for the execution of
payment transactions that have to be implemented by payment service providers (
). These rulebooks can be regarded as instruction manuals, which provide a common understanding on how to move funds between bank accounts within
. The rules and standards which make up a
payment scheme are defined by
in a cooperative environment (the
). The development of payment schemes through self-regulation by
, in close dialogue with customers, represents the established approach in all national banking communities and in
.

calls on
lawmakers to align forthcoming
Regulation with industry best practice in the area of scheme development

Moving forward, the European Commission (the Commission) seeks broad executive powers to determine payment functionalities. This is set out in the Commission's proposal for a Regulation establishing technical requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euros, introduced in December 2010 (the Commission proposal). This legislative initiative is commonly referred to as the forthcoming
Regulation, which is expected to set definitive deadlines for migration to harmonised
payment schemes. This Regulation will empower the Commission to mandate changes to the
payment schemes.

The European legislator, i.e. the European Parliament and the Council of the
representing
Member States, is now in the process of reviewing the Commission proposal for a
Regulation. The
invites
lawmakers to ensure that any future amendments to the
Schemes, mandated by the European Commission, are at least subject to consultation by the European Central Bank according to its role and responsibilities. In addition, such amendments should reflect a consensus among all stakeholders based on adequate market consultation. Last but not least, deadlines for such amendments to take effect must be aligned with the timelines governing the
and
Rulebook release schedule and the investment cycles of market participants.

and Cards Stakeholders Group release
cards standardisation requirements for public consultation

On 6 June, 2011, the
and the Cards Stakeholders Group released the latest version of the
Cards Standardisation Volume - Book of Requirements (the Standardisation Volume) for public consultation. The Standardisation Volume defines the functional and security standards requirements needed to achieve interoperability based on open and free standards within the
cards market. Version 5.5 of the Standardisation Volume, which is now subject to consultation, includes updates with regard to security requirements, payment with cash back, dynamic currency conversion, mobile contactless payments, payment with aggregated amount and surcharging. To ensure the most effective transaction technology and processes are adopted, the
and the Cards Stakeholders Group call on industry stakeholders to review the recent revisions and provide feedback by 29 July, 2011. A link to the documentation relevant to the ongoing consultation is included below.

The
carries out a card standardisation programme designed to achieve a consistent customer experience, high levels of security and optimum process efficiency throughout the
cards market. In 2009, the
promoted the creation of the Cards Stakeholders Group, together with representatives of five sectors also active in the cards domain. These included retailers, vendors - such as manufacturers of card payment devices and related IT systems - processors, card schemes and banks. The Cards Stakeholders Group develops the
Cards Standardisation Volume. The Cards Stakeholders Group enables the expectations of a broad range of payment card stakeholders to be benchmarked. It also provides strong co-management, alongside
, for the process of identifying standard requirements and implementation best practices that will promote interoperability in the
cards market. The collective aim of the
and the Cards Stakeholders Group is to establish a framework for a better, safer, more cost efficient and richer card services environment, whatever the card product or scheme may be.

In December 2009, the European Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), which is made up of finance ministers from the various
Member States, requested in its conclusions on
that the industry should set the conditions for further standardisation in the area of cards.

Ugo Bechis is the Chair of the
Cards Working Group. Javier Santamaría is the Chair of the
Payment Schemes Working Group.

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In this article

The European Payments Council (
) is responsible for the development and maintenance of
payment schemes, as defined in the
Credit Transfer (
) and
Direct Debit (
) Rulebooks. As requested by the relevant European Union (
) public authorities throughout the past decade, the
payment schemes are defined by payment service providers (
) in a cooperative environment (the
). The development of payment schemes through self-regulation by banks, in close dialogue with customers, represents the established approach in all national banking communities and in
. The
calls on
lawmakers to align the forthcoming
Regulation with industry best practice in the area of scheme development. In line with the annual scheme change management process, possible modifications to the rulebooks are subject to a three month public consultation. Stakeholders are encouraged to provide feedback during the 2011 consultation, which launched in May 2011, on the next release of the
and
Rulebooks. In June 2011, the
and the Cards Stakeholders Group released an updated version of the
Cards Standardisation Volume - Book of Requirements for public consultation. Market participants are invited to share comments on the recent revisions. Ugo Bechis and Javier Santamaría provide details and deadlines regarding the ongoing
consultations.

Key Information in this Article

On 23 May, 2011, the European Payments Council (
) launched the annual public consultation on possible modifications to the
Credit Transfer (
) and
Direct Debit (
) Scheme Rulebooks.

All stakeholders are invited to provide feedback by 20 August, 2011. Links to the consultation documents are included at the end of this article.

Moving forward, the European Commission seeks broad executive powers to determine payment functionalities. The
stresses that any future changes to the
Schemes mandated by the European Commission should:

Be based on adequate market consultation and reflect broad consensus among all stakeholders.

Take effect in accordance with the timelines governing the evolution of the
Schemes and the investment cycles of market participants.

On 6 June, 2011, the
and the Cards Stakeholders Group released the latest version of the
Cards Standardisation Volume – Book of Requirements (the Standardisation Volume) for public consultation.

All stakeholders are invited to provide feedback by 29 July, 2011. The link to the consultation documents is included at the end of this article.

Ugo Bechis

EPC Office Holder and Cards Working Group Chair

Javier Santamaría

Chair of the European Payments Council

Javier Santamaría is the Chair of the
since June 2012, and has been one of its members since its creation in 2002. During decades as a bank employee, Mr Santamaría accumulated a broad and balanced expertise in the intertwined dimensions of payments – business-related, operational, technical – across different client segments and product lines, in the legacy and the innovative spheres, which he now further develops as an independent self-employed professional. He has been immersed in both cooperative and competitive environments. Besides payments, he is interested in other banking fields and continues to be actively engaged in academic matters. Mr Santamaría is also Chair of the Iberpay Board. Former Head of Operations and Business Services, he was Senior Vice President at Banco Santander until December 2016. He was a member of the Board of the Euro Banking Association and a Director of the SWIFT Board until the end of 2016.